The Fox Chased the Skunk, The Fox Chased the Skunk, Hi-Ho The Derry-O...

Yesterday, after a very long day, Red decided to be a pill about something and in my response to his charm, I chucked his freshly opened bag of Cheddar Cheese Chex Mix out of my truck and into the driveway. Hmpf! That will fix him I thought, claiming my silent victory. Soon after coming inside, regret began to toy with me. Firstly, why was I beating up a bag of Chex Mix? It was Red whom I wanted to poke with a sharp stick. And secondly, I was now faced with the potential problem of drawing wildlife into my yard. I was way too proud, or embarrassed, to solicit Red's help in my predicament so I sat nervously at the window looking out and wondering what the hell I was going to do. My only defense...Cheddar Cheese Chex Mix really stinks! Especially in small spaces...and it was my new truck, after all.

I decided to write my friend, Cara, and confess my misdeed. Meanwhile, I spotted two foxes arguing over who got to hold the bag of Chex Mix in my driveway. "Great," I muttered, hoping Red didn't notice the scene occurring in the driveway. "Well, hurry up and eat it all and be gone with you", I mumbled at the window. As a car drove by, I hoped that my neighbors didn't assume I was freely feeding the wildlife...I am staunchly opposed to feeding the animals. Should I retreat and ask Red to remedy the problem, I wondered when suddenly a skunk arrived on the scene. Crap. And this is when Red decided to acknowledge the bag of Chex Mix in the driveway. My little indiscretion was now a contender for a bigger problem than our tiff we had had earlier.

Interestingly, the skunk held his ground while the only remaining fox looked on cautiously. I don't blame him!

"Oh, Dear God, please don't let that skunk spray that fox! Not there! Not mere feet from my house!" As I sat at the window, sweating profusely, Red remained vigilant at the front door in his silent observance. Gulp.

Finally, the skunk left. A quick saints be praised flashed through my head when suddenly I noticed that darn skunk was waddling right back, challenging his competitor! We watched in horror; waiting for the green, malodorous mist to materialize before us. But after a brief Tete`-a-tete between the skunk and the fox, the skunk left again. This time, the fox was going to have the last word and it deliberately piddled on the Chex Mix bag! "That will fix that skunk," I heard the fox say as he trotted off, snickering, into the nearby bushes. Soon, the skunk returned and joyfully played with the bag, clearly mocking the fox and then he had the audacity to proudly wear the Chex Mix bag over his head like a hat! I heard a distant sigh of disgust rising from the bushes as I moved from the window.

Amanda's perspective...

Just moments before the assault begins...

After a full day of excavation maneuvers, we were nearing the end. The last vat of concrete was being mixed when something unexpected occurred. Amanda dumped half a bag of portland cement all over her. From her chin to the depths of her bra, were 30 pounds of dry cement. A gray cloud loomed for a moment, concealing her as I recognized fragments of sturdy words emanating from the swirling fog. 

It had been the practice of the day for Red or Greg to dump the cumbersome bags into the mixer as Amanda had expressed some serious concerns about losing certain body parts from her chest region when dumping the bulky bags into the spinning mixer. But after being playfully challenged by her teasing husband, Amanda took on the task and tossed the bag into the mixer herself. The good news is, she didn't lose any body parts. I pulled her version of this story from her Face Book page and I include a link to the video depicting the torturous event in which she endured. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2efudLVeYbM

Amanda's Perspective: Drove a front-end loader today, made 12 batches of mud for the retaining walls, spilled portland down my shirt and was told I HAD to be hosed off in the front yard to avoid burns...now I am in my dad's shirt with wet pants that have a big rip down the back...AND my mom made me go into the store like this for dinner...if I weren't 26 years old, I would surely have a case for child abuse/neglect...

You have to love her spirit! Thanks for checking in.
Kim :-)

How About A Big Fat Burrito With A Mountain Lion Chaser? Hey...it's dark...can you see anything out here?

Being that tonight was laundry night, we got to have dinner from The Armadillo Mexican restaurant. I'll admit, it was a decent bribe to get our laundry done. After we stuffed our gullets with this favored cuisine, we headed off into the hills with Dr. Laura and the moon as our companions. I get excited every time we pull into the driveway at night because I’m anticipating something in the yard; either the resident fox, Bart the bear, raccoons or my newest acquaintance, the lonely skunk. Apparently, the wild gang was busy tonight and all was quiet as Red and I made our usual swift trek into the house.

After settling in, I fired up my computer when suddenly, Red came to me and said, “Listen!!!” Translation---Something’s out there! I raced to the kitchen nearly taking off Red’s heels on the way to the back door. Just on the other side, in solid darkness was the screechy yowl of a mountain lion! Have you ever heard a mountain lion? They sound just like a screaming lady. I know this now because once, when we lived in Larkspur, I ripped Red out of a dead sleep because I was certain that our neighbor, Eva, was being murdered next door! It took Red several minutes and some fast talking to convince me not to call the police and that it was not Eva being murdered, rather a mountain lion in our back yard. So, tonight, with my seasoned ears and wildlife finesse, I quickly identified the lion.

Red went to the front of the house while I remained staring into the black abyss hoping I could catch sight of this magnificent creature. Suddenly, I felt a presence at my side; it was my cat staring anxiously into the dark. I watched her track the creature with her eyes…Honestly, I was fascinated yet a bit freaked out! And then we could hear it walking behind the house…Door closed!!!

A few minutes later, Red suddenly remembered he left the window open in the van along with my abandoned burrito; certainly a lure to wildlife and most importantly, it was tomorrow’s lunch! Do you rescue the burrito or not while there is a mountain lion roaming around? Absolutely! You don’t want to leave food around to entice the wildlife and there’s no separating a man from his claimed burrito. So, with me as Red’s backup, he snuck out to the van and without incident, he salvaged his burrito. I do have to wonder…what if the mountain lion was still out there when he went to retrieve his burrito? What the heck could I have done?

Take care and thanks for checking in.  Kim

Slow down and enjoy your life...

Last Saturday, I awoke with a special person on my mind. At 6:45 a.m., my mind could think of nothing else but to call Bug, my sister-in-law, and have our usual phone marathon conversation. An urgency to call her kept me from falling back asleep. All week, Bug had been on my mind and all week and I kept putting off calling her as I kept trying to finish things up at the house first. Always trying to juggle tasks and errands and manage Red's company. Get my chores done first before I can have fun. But sadly, later that morning, I learned that Bug had passed away unexpectedly.

She was only 52 years old. I met Bug when I married Red nearly 27 years ago. Quickly, she joined my Favorite People List. Bug always had a way of making you laugh and making you feel good. She saw things from a different angle and you'd always end up laughing. Even with miserable situations...she could help you find something funny in it. What a gift! In Bug's presence, you were always comfortable...never awkward. I hope I have this effect on people as this was one of Bug's many qualities. She was a dear person who leaves behind a huge hole in our hearts.

Recently, I saw Bug at Bob's dad's funeral. I had a lump in my throat the size of Texas as I tried to be smiley, but I couldn't get past the sadness for Bob and Cindy and their children and family. But Bug, in her usual Bug fashion, brought me around and soon we were happily chatting in the parking lot. When we parted, she hugged me tight and said "I love you." It was the first time I'd ever heard Bug tell me this. I've always known she did, but to hear it put me on top of a mountain and I'm still there because of it. :-)

This precious person has left us too soon, and it's really hard to say goodbye, but I do know this, Bug is dancing in Heaven with our Lord right now. Praise God for that! :-) And please pray for Bug's sweet husband, Mike, and their two wonderful children and grandkids. This is going to be hard on them.

Today my thoughts focus on life. Simply life.

Make that phone call to your friend, sister, mom, loved-one, etc. Ignore the chores...they can wait. Hug your loved-ones a few more times. Tell them you love them a few more times. Forget the cobwebs and dustbunnies today...if your daughter wants you to read to her...go for it. If your mom wants to chat on the phone, make the time. If your husband is looking a little bored or lonely, go shake things up for him and put a smile on his face. Take the time to enjoy your life and enrich someone else's. Remember, the little things are what's important. Slow down and take notice of the little things that tickle you or make your heart smile. Thanks for checking in...Kim

Another Picture of the Old Kitchen...Before and During Demo Operations

Ewwww, scary!

The Master Bedroom Now...

With the exception of the drywall dust spread across the new hardwood floor, this room is awesome!

It all started with Bob...

This is Bob tearing down the closet that rests between two rooms. We turned two small rooms into one large master bedroom. I think Bob really liked the demo process...

A View of the Old Kitchen...

It is amazing how far we've come since this picture! No more daylight peeking through...no more uninvited spiders and bees! Tis truly remarkable. Thanks Red, Amanda, Greg, Sydney and Jared...all apart of bringing this kitchen to it's present glory.

August, 2010

After thinking I'd be away from my blog for only a few weeks, I realize it's been a heck of a lot longer. Not my intention. This summer is moving way too fast for us! It still feels like April where I'm anticipating the next snow...but now I realize it's mid August and I'm already anticipating the new fall snows.

With great enthusiasm, I plant myself in front of my new flat screen monitor that I purchased from another Craigslist enthusiast last week. After hearing some snapping sounds emanating from my former monitor, I realized it was time to replace it before it caught fire like my old, old monitor did.

So, here I sit staring into a familiar, but larger, blank screen wondering what to write about. Alas, I have an idea. I should probably share with you the progress we've made thus far...provided blogspot will allow several shots. So, here goes! Thanks for checking in.

This first picture is in the kitchen. I am warming up to the fresh, new color and am seriously leaning toward liking it. You see those adorable windows? There are six in all...very old windows. I've spent 19 cumulative hours restoring those precious windows. Nineteen blinding, tedious, hand grinding, aching hours to restore their charm. A few days ago, Red joined me in the restoration project and after spending only one hour on them, he decides that perhaps we should check into replacing them! But what about my 19 hours and all that pain, love and care? Out the window? Pardon my pun, I couldn't resist. So, after much deliberation...okay, it was more like five minutes, we decided to call and get an estimate. I lost the argument when the price of replacing the windows was a tenth of the cost that I had predicted. Well, it will be much warmer this winter, and newer is better...the appraiser will like that, I'm sure. So, the new double-paned windows will arrive this week. They will still have the same appearance as what you see here except they are new and much easier to clean! Hmmm, now there's a perk!

Enter, Black Bart

After a very long and hot day in Denver yesterday, Red returned home to his posh retreat where we were shared a steak and watched a movie together for the first time in several weeks. With the front door propped wide open, we were taking in the cool night breeze while the fresh mountain air swirled around our living room when suddenly I heard a disturbance at the front door, just a mere three feet away from me. My only protection...thin nylon screen and piece of PVC pipe beside me. "Red! Something's out there," I squeaked, scrambling out of his way, nearly tossing my steak sideways. I could sense that the disturbance was much larger than Sally, our resident fox and I knew it was much larger than the raccoon we had met earlier through our bedroom window. It could only be one thing, I feared inside my terror stricken thoughts. At Red's hasty stroke of the porch light, there it stood, Black Bart; all 200+ pounds of muscle, fur and teeth. He looked at Red and wandered slowly up the hill beside our house, only to stop, take another look at Red, I think to size him up, but alas, Black Bart meandered back up into the woods.

When we lived in Larkspur, we had encountered bears a few times and it was exciting. One time, a bear was in our tree in the backyard...our two dogs had treed him. My daughter, Sydney, feared the bear would hurt our dogs so she stood below this bear and struggled to get our dogs back into the house. Of course, as a mother, I freaked out that my daughter is standing right below this bear who seemed very annoyed. Sydney, unconcerned, treated this bear like it was a kitten in the tree! Against my strong encouragment (many severe words) to make her get back inside, she did accomplish the mission and the bear seemed most grateful to her when he climbed down, offered a friendly nod and wandered back up into the trees.

Another encounter with bears left me a changed person. We had been camping near Red Feather Lakes with our daughters and sons-in-law and grand-daughter. We all love to camp but for Amanda and me, as soon as the sun goes down, our imaginations rise to the occasion...our husbands just love this about us. When darkness falls, bear is constantly on the brain...every noise and every sound can be attributed to a bear sneaking up on us.

It was our last camping night and we had already scared the crap out of each other over bears and so it was decided for us that it was time for bed. We all climbed into our tents and rested our heads...moments later, I awoke to the words, "Mommie! They're here!" This could only mean one thing...code for BEARS IN THE CAMP! I flicked on my flashlight and I saw 3 sets of eyes peering into my tent! It's amazing how fast your entire life can really flash before you! I don't remember the next few minutes...other than Red and my son-in-law, Greg stomping around camping telling those bears to get out! Well, that will show them, I huffed...still shaking in my slippers. So, we all decided to go back to bed, but those stubborn bears returned! And that's when Amanda and I said, "We're outta here!" As we evacuated our camp at 2 a.m., we saw where the bears had completely torn a camp apart down the road! Tents were down and camping equipment was scattered everywhere. It looked as if a bomb had gone off. And then all our eyes landed on the campers' car...the bears had opened the car door and pulled the entire back seat out of the car and left it torn in the campsite.

Did I put you in the camping mood?

Communication...

This past weekend Bob and Cindy rolled up their sleeves again and joined in the restoration efforts at the house. While Bob began with electrical boxes, Cindy was assigned, by her brother, Red, to mud the joints on the freshly hung drywall in the bedroom. Cindy, happy to accept her first task went right to work. I wasn't here for the first couple of hours as I had to run a few errands with Amanda in Conifer, which also included the ever important tall-decaf-mocha-no-whip and a few garage sales...Shhhhh

So, while I'm in the comfort of my daughter's air conditioned van, sipping mocha throughout the pretty Conifer landscapes on my way back to the house, I learn that my poor sister-in-law is really struggling with the mud and trowel work on the walls. Sadly, she was trying to make it as perfect and smooth to match the other walls in the room...walls that were already mudded and sanded by Amanda and myself earlier that morning! Apparently, Red had neglected to share that most important detail with her when he gave her a brief rundown on drywall operations. Poor Cindy...she was so diligent. By the way, her work was absolutely beautiful!!! She's hired! Red's Fired!

Did You Just Say a Dead Skunk?

Since we moved here, there has been a strange smell. The house had been abandoned for quite some time, so one could expect some funky odors floating around especially when you've opened up some walls and made some rather interesting discoveries, one of which, you'll remember, went diving into Amanda's shirt a while back. But this smell has been continuing to grow, finally reaching all corners of the house and now waking me up in the middle of the night. Red's constant claims of it being from the old fox den in the crawl space have expired along with my patience. Amanda who was sitting innocently on the floor tending to some drywall got a huge blast of this melodious odor when Red cut through the wall that led down to the crawlspace. The next thing I remember was Amanda flailing around the room and finally storming toward the front door gagging all the way. Great, there goes my help. So after this display, we now know there is definitely something amiss and it's Red job to find it, pronto! As he made his way to the crawlspace to feed some heat vent pipe into the wall, he made the discovery of The Smell that has been plaguing me for weeks and, most recently, Amanda. Yes, we had a dead skunk in the wall. If you thought skunks smelled bad when they were alive...trust me, avoid a dead one at all costs. The poor decomposing critter did have a nice burial, compliments of Amanda.

Well, it's been a few weeks since we've moved in to the house and I must say, we're adapting nicely. We haven't killed each other yet, however I'll admit there was an incident that required a Bandaid. All in all, we're doing very well. We've got the boiling water down to a perfect system where we always have hot water whenever we want. It's pretty much like camping, except you have doors, a real bed and electricity. Well, some electricity. Most of the house is turned off as we had to rewire the entire house. So, we passed our first big hurdle; a partial electrical inspection...let me back up a bit.

So, in preparing for our first inspection, we were feeling pretty smug, pretty confident. Red was so confident that at the last minute and just minutes before the inspector was due to arrive, he decided to throw in the bathroom as well to the inspection that day. WHAT? All we were originally shooting for was the kitchen and bedroom! You see, Red is one of those people that if it isn't scary, mindboggling or nerveracking, it just ain't fun! I love him dearly, but could really do without his edge.

So, as Red was hanging inside the rafters above the bathroom with his fancy new ROMEX clenched in his teeth, I heard the inspector drive up. Now I can't really type here what I said as I'm sure there's some kind of FCC regulation. But you can surmise what I had said because all morning I had been gently reminding Red that he needed to remove ALL of the OLD wiring in the bedroom before the inspector arrived...they'll flunk you for having the old wires in the walls. Anyway, after numerous reassurances by Red that he'd get them ALL removed BEFORE the inspector arrived, he didn't make his mark. Grrr.

The good news was, the inspector passed the kitchen with flying colors but he would not pass the bedroom because the OLD wiring was still in place. Never mind that it was done expertly! Grrr again. Red, who is the ever willing soul, God bless him, suddenly enlists me into his next plan. He gestures to me, behind the inspector's back, to STALL him! To make small talk with him and do whatever I could do to allow Red those precious few minutes to rip out those blasted wires. Earlier, the inspector refused "to wait" while Red ripped out the few menacing wires and he stated, rather firmly, "I'm not gonna wait or pass you today because of those wires." He was definitely a curmudgeon and my work was really cut out for me as my vast abilities to chat charmingly and make small talk we're failing miserably and finally, I was reduced to trying to bribe the old man with a cookie...needless to say, we had to reschedule another inspection for a week later, which did pass with excellence. Let me add this, Red did get the old wires out while I was still drilling the poor inspector with lots of stupid questions. Proudly, Red announced to the inspector, "I got them all out! Now, will ya pass me?" The inspector bites, "NO, I've already written it down on my report." Gulp.

How to Properly Install a New Subfloor

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GS8WMrLYM7U

Above is the link where you can see what I'm talking about in this post. Normally I pride myself on keeping up with today's technology, but for some reason, I can't upload the video to this post and we're one man down today as Amanda, who is my personal techi and carpenter, has the 102.5 fever virus that has struck her family and all of Littleton over the past month so, I'm on my own today as I try to figure out this video thing for you. But, alas, I have figured it out, albeit it's not the most ideal, but it will suffice. I hope. On with the post---A couple of weeks ago, Red and Amanda were raising the kitchen floor as it was a sunken kitchen. Why, when people build, don't they just make things all one level? Okay, we'll reserve this rant for another time. Anyway all the 2 x 4 sticks of wood were all in place on the floor and ready to be covered with OSB sheeting. By the way, did you know that 2"x 4" sticks of lumber really aren't 2 inches by 4 inches? They are actually 1-1/2 inches by 3-1/2 inches. It's a long story and Red lost me in his explanation somewhere around the time he interjected the word, nominal. So, in case you're ever asked this facinating little fact for some kind of a trivia contest, you'll know the answer! Getting back to the wood floor project, Red and Amanda must have been getting a little goofy, or delirious as they were fast approaching their 14th hour of work that day, but they came up with a fun way of moving the wood sheeting over the 2 x 4's and into place. Can anyone say rubber mallet? Enjoy. See ya on the next post and thanks for stopping by. Kim :-)

A Dead Mouse, Where?

Against my staunch lecture about safe and proper attire, Amanda felt it was time to retire her hazmat suit. Feeling more courageous, she decided a simple t-shirt and jeans woud suffice for tearing down the walls. Well, the old adage, mother knows best, should always apply. But Amanda had to learn this lesson the hard way. As she was ripping out the bathroom wall, something tumbled down and landed inside her shirt...her cleavage to be more precise. Yep, you got it...mouse bones. Poor thing was white in the face for a few hours...and she didn't talk much at all (very unusual for her). Amanda didn't share her experience with us until she was 3 minutes from her shower. It was then that she could finally bring herself to talk about it. Ewwwwwww!

Ready...set....TACKLE!

Okay, so the renovation continues as we strive to organize our schedules, material purchases, grandkid wrangling and, oh yeah, employment, in which to sustain ourselves. It gets a little complicated.

Our daughter, Amanda, dreaded our construction projects when she was a teenager...we had built two complete houses; one in Fairplay and one if Larkspur. Her enthusiasm, in those days, was seriously lacking and it seemed it was her hobby to try and sabotage our efforts to finish those houses. Today, she's grown and I suspect, feeling the effects of guilt...Now, she jumps in and wants to do it all, regarding fixing up this little house. She won't even let her husband help...he gets to stay home with the kids. Her first task...tearing out walls. This house is over 50 years old and has sat vacant for 3 years. It has acquired, let's say, some added character along the way. So, to prepare for this heroic venture, she put together her own impressive hazmat suit, which includes duct tape, trash bag and respirator. Let the walls come down.

The Adventure Begins

After beginning our renovation project 7 weeks ago, I've had many requests to blog the ordeal...did I just type ordeal? I really meant to say, "share our wonderful experiences in the home renovation process". It all began while perusing Craigslist and Cohomefinder in search of a house. After searching two years for a house that would suit my wheelchair, a little house appeared on my screen, inviting me to consider it. It was worn and torn and abandoned...needing much work, but another offer went in on it so I had to dismiss this little cottage that had spoken to me. My heart hurt a little when it was gone, but I knew there would be something better coming along soon. A few months later...this little cottage returned, beckoning me once again. Apparently, the previous offer had fallen apart...Aha! I still had a chance! So, with very strategic maneuvers executed by my dear brother-in-law, Bob, along with his wife, Cindy, we were able to acquire this little diamond in the rough. Let the renovations begin! Our first task...tearing out a wall to make one large bedroom. Bob, who is an Executive by day, became macho construction man by weekend. We moved in with our daughter, Amanda and her husband, Greg, along with our two adorable grandchildren, Lilly and Jason for seven weeks while the reconstruction continued. And on May 15th, we moved in to the little house. This is where the adventure begins...